The objective of this invention is to propose a method of contacting that maintains a reliable method of electrical contact between the leads of a semiconductor device and the terminals of a printed circuit board or load board so that the resistance is maintained low, minimal housing bow, vertical alignment of the device leads to the load board and no wear of the load board.
A major instability in contact resistance is in the mate between the contact tip and the device lead after both surfaces have merged. One method to overcome this instability is by designing a contact tip that is spiked to break through the debris on the surface of the device leads. The other common method is to have the contact tip translate along the device lead to create a self-cleaning action between the device lead and the contact tip. While the former method is initially effective it is still subject to debris accumulation and contact tip wear, both of which will result in increased resistance.